# Scared to open car hood **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 30, 2015, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913 "2015-04-30T18:11:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913/61 "2015-05-01T13:59:27Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > If you are terrified to open the hood of your own car, you probably shouldn’t be driving. Well, one could say that if you don’t have a healthy respect for things that could be dangerous, you shouldn’t be driving. Although opening a car hood is fairly easy and safe, it is possible to hurt yourself if it slams down on your fingers or your head (and I’ve mildly cut my finger trying to find the release latch), so I wouldn’t be too hard on someone like the OP. ---
**Author:** ![sara20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@sara20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sara20)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913/62 "2015-05-01T14:07:23Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > If you can’t find the owner’s manual in your glovebox, the PDF version for your 2011 Honda Accord can be viewed [here.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_122278&feature=iv&src_vid=VXJZVZFRFJc&v=mXI4WWhPn-U) Hood release information is on page 300. Page 301 has information about how to keep the hood up once you’ve raised it: if you’ve got a 4-cylinder engine, you’ll be using a prop-rod, but if you’ve got a V6 engine, then the hood has built-in gas struts so it will stay up by itself once you lift it past about halfway. > > The instructions include illustrations showing you exactly where the release levers are and exactly how to use the prop rod (if you’ve got one). The detail in the pictures can be hard to see if you’re viewing the entire manual page at once on your computer screen. If you zoom in so that each picture takes up the entire screen, you can see all the detail that shows you exactly how the hood release latch (under the front of the hood) moves, and exactly how the prop rod sticks into the hood to hold it up. Did you really type all that up to trick me into clicking on a bizarre YouTube video? ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913/63 "2015-05-01T14:10:00Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > There are lots of everyday parts of life that can hurt you if you’re not careful. This is just another one of those. Don’t get me started on how dangerous cooking is! I have far more scars on my hands from cooking than from car maintenance. ---
**Author:** ![Lorene89095](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@Lorene89095](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorene89095)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913/64 "2015-05-01T14:10:55Z")
I had a hood slam closed once – the wind was very strong and caught it just right. No,it did not catch my hands or head… I third go to a auto store,I’m sure the nice person will be glad to help you out. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913/65 "2015-05-01T14:19:40Z")
> [@sara20](#): > > Did you really type all that up to trick me into clicking on a bizarre YouTube video? Ha, I don’t think **Machine Elf** would have done that, it was a mistake. [Here’s](http://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/pubs/OM/A51111/A51111OM.pdf) another, look at page 348 for the fill location. Yes, it’s a blue cap. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913/66 "2015-05-01T14:21:55Z")
ok, this is about a fear of being hurt. On seeing the thread title, I was thinking it was a fear of something being wrong with the engine, and I thought “The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle doesn’t apply to car engines…” ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913/67 "2015-05-01T14:26:54Z")
> [@sara20](#): > > Once you disengage the release lever if you raise it up a couple inches and it slips out of your hand, does it go back to the default position of being partly open and catch on the release lever or will it slam down on your fingers? While I don’t know the specific answer, I wanted to point out to the snarkers that ^^_this_^^ is the crux of the OP’s Q and thread title, and a perfectly legitimate question. **Sara20** , when you do get around to opening (or get someone’s help in opening) that hood, I’d experiment with exactly this scenario (controlled, not a “slip”) so you can see with your own eyes exactly how your own make/model of vehicle will behave if you ever do accidentally let go, or your grip slips a bit, in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913/68 "2015-05-01T15:41:27Z")
> [@sara20](#): > > Did you really type all that up to trick me into clicking on a bizarre YouTube video? :smack::smack::smack::smack: That’s what I get for multitasking. Sorry about the confusion; the link I _meant_ to include was this: > **[TA1111OM.pdf](https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/pubs/OM/TA1111/TA1111OM.pdf)** > > 9.58 MB (now I see that’s exactly the link **lieu** has posted) The video link I accidentally used instead was a parody of the [“Big Dog” quadruped robot development program;](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BigDog) the real Big Dog robots look only slightly less silly than the two-man team in that video. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913/69 "2015-05-01T16:24:09Z")
FWIW, **sara20** I have been doing maintenance on my own cars since i could drive and in all the time that I have opened and closed bits on the car, the ONLY time I slammed something on my fingers was getting into my friend’s car and slamming the door on my own hand. (I swung into the passenger seat while holding the roof with my left hand, and proceeded to close the door with my right…)Not my best moment. Honestly, you shouldn’t have any trepidation over lifting the hood and following the notes in the manual. I know some trade schools and places like AAA/CAA offer basic maintenance seminars, it may be worth a Saturday to take one. You’ll probably find that most of your fears weren’t worth worrying over and you’ll gain some skills you didn’t have. Have a look [here](http://www.chron.com/life/article/Women-are-in-the-driver-s-seat-when-it-s-time-to-1595604.php) as a starting place. ---
**Author:** ![owlfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@owlfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlfan)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913/70 "2015-05-01T16:26:31Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > ok, this is about a fear of being hurt. > > On seeing the thread title, I was thinking it was a fear of something being wrong with the engine, and I thought “The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle doesn’t apply to car engines…” Schrodinger’s car engine. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913/71 "2015-05-01T17:14:47Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Well, one could say that if you don’t have a healthy respect for things that could be dangerous, you shouldn’t be driving. > > Although opening a car hood is fairly easy and safe, it is possible to hurt yourself if it slams down on your fingers or your head (and I’ve mildly cut my finger trying to find the release latch), so I wouldn’t be too hard on someone like the OP. There is a world of difference between healthy respect and irrational fear. Driving is not for everybody and if someone is so clumsy that opening the car hood represents a likely threat to their well-being or if they are too scared to even attempt such a thing, they are a danger behind the wheel. ---
**Author:** ![Gothic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Gothic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gothic)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913/72 "2015-05-01T17:33:41Z")
I have no memory of my Mom ever opening the car hood and she was an excellent driver. Most of the gas stations were full serve when she drove. I replaced my timing belt but now the car idles at 4000 rpm. ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913/73 "2015-05-01T18:17:16Z")
OK, I watched this [How To Open Hood: 2011 Honda Accord LX 2.4L 4 Cyl.](http://www.carcarekiosk.com/video/2011_Honda_Accord_LX_2.4L_4_Cyl./hood/open_the_hood) I thought that it looked pretty much the same as my 2013 Corolla. So at lunch time, I went out to the parking lot. I’m a 53 year old woman with some arthritis. I stand 5’4". I’ve opened the hood on this car once in the year I’ve had it. Oddly enough, to add washer fluid. I popped the latch inside the car. The hood popped up about an inch. It did take me a little longer to find thesafety latch; it was further back than I thought. I opened the hood paying attention to the weight. I shut it and tried again with one hand. Not a problem. Closed the hood and tried again, this time paying attention to my hands. I popped the safety latch with my right hand and lifted the hood with the TIPS of my fingers about 8 inches. Then, still holding the hood with the tips of my fingers, I turned my left hand outward so that it went from lifting with my fingers to pushing with my palm. I move the right hand similarly and then the hood is fully raised. If either of my hands slips, my fingers are OVER the hood, not between the hood and the engine block. Now with my left hand holding the hood over my head palm out, I take my right hand and disengage the rod. Yes, my fingers are under the hood right now, but if it slipped out of my left hand, there’s plenty of time to back up. I think it would be reflexive. Fears come from different places. I know women who won’t go in the back yard because someone saw a grass snake in it three years ago. If you know any women who have been divorced a long time, you might ask them. Many of them had to learn to do things for themselves they didn’t know how to do before and don’t get snarky about imparting the knowledge.\* Whoever you get to help you, make sure they understand you want to be able to do this yourself. Don’t get someone to do it for you; get someone to show you how. \*For the record, I was not one of these women. My father was positively barbaric, fercryinoutloud, in his insistence that I help him when he worked on things. I was pretty resentful of having to get out in hot car and work the brake or indicators or hand him tools when I was 10 or so, but in the long run it paid off. As did changing the tire in the driveway four or six or “geez, I’ve got it, Dad” times. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913/74 "2015-05-01T19:31:35Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > and I think the snark in this thread is completely unnecessary. Same here. Snarking is fine in most instances but snarking on someone asking for help over something they are scared of is mean. > [@BeeGee](#): > > Closed the hood and tried again, this time paying attention to my hands. I popped the safety latch with my right hand and lifted the hood with the TIPS of my fingers about 8 inches. Then, still holding the hood with the tips of my fingers, I turned my left hand outward so that it went from lifting with my fingers to pushing with my palm. I move the right hand similarly and then the hood is fully raised. If either of my hands slips, my fingers are OVER the hood, not between the hood and the engine block. Now with my left hand holding the hood over my head palm out, I take my right hand and disengage the rod. Yes, my fingers are under the hood right now, but if it slipped out of my left hand, there’s plenty of time to back up. I think it would be reflexive. This is an excellent post and I just wanted to reiterate what **BeeGee** said about hand positions. Initially you should be able to use just your whole fingers, not just the tips, to lift the hood up just enough so you can then turn one hand around to where your plam is under the hood supporting it and your fingers are over the top of the hood. Then you turn the other hand around and then lift the hood all the way up. Like\*\* BeeGee\*\* said once you get your palms under the hood supporting it if it drops for any reason at that point your fingers will be safe as they are above the hood. Then keeping one hand supporting the hood use the other to place the support stick. You should have no problem supporting the weight of the hood with one hand. My 84 year old grandma checks her own oil and has no problem with the hood. My grandma never did any car maintenance because my grandpa always did it but once he passed I’ve been doing all the basic car work. I taught my grandma how to check the oil so she can let me know when it is time to change it and initially she was concerned about dropping the hood but I showed her how and she tried it a couple of times her self and then she felt comfortable doing it on her own. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913/75 "2015-05-02T00:58:06Z")
> [@sara20](#): > > Did you really type all that up to trick me into clicking on a bizarre YouTube video? Once you said that I just HAD to look at it. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913/76 "2015-05-02T01:21:00Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Well, one could say that if you don’t have a healthy respect for things that could be dangerous, you shouldn’t be driving. it isn’t that. The quote I posted above from Richard Parry-Jones has a point; modern cars are incredibly complex machines which share the roads with thousands of other incredibly complex machines, and we more or less hand them out to any dimp with the money to pay for one, and let them operate them on public roads after little more than a multiple-choice test. You don’t have to know one bit about how to maintain these machines in order to own one. On the other hand, you can’t own and operate an airplane (even a simple little thing like a Cessna Skyhawk) unless you’ve proven damn well and good that you know how to keep that plane in good working order. if the automobile was invented today, practically nobody would be allowed to own one. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913/77 "2015-05-02T02:41:17Z")
If a person is too scared to change their own washer fluid, does it really seem likely that they are capable of making the kind of quick life-or-death decisions driving occasionally demands? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913/78 "2015-05-02T02:52:46Z")
Every car that I’ve seen has safety springs on the hood hinges. Springs keeps the hood open. They also slow down how fast it will drop closed. It is possible to get hit by the hood if you’re careless. But the springs make it much safer. My commercial van doesn’t. The hood will slam down on your head if that support rod slips. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913/79 "2015-05-02T02:55:33Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > If a person is too scared to change their own washer fluid, does it really seem likely that they are capable of making the kind of quick life-or-death decisions driving occasionally demands? I once had to cut off my own left arm (just below the elbow) while driving during a winter squall. I won’t bore you with the entire story; suffice it to say I had a hell of a time getting my hood up (needed to change the timing belt) one handed. Our nations’ highways are no place for the timid. IMO. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913/80 "2015-05-02T02:58:20Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The hood will slam down on your head if that support rod slips. That sounds like you’re speaking from experience . 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scared-to-open-car-hood/718913.md?page=5)